WE INVITE YOU TO BE YOUR CHILD'S FIRST TEACHER
The HIPPY Program prepares children three to five years old for entry into preschool and/or kindergarten. The program is offered internationally and in 25 U.S. states, including California. However, because HIPPY is not commercially advertised, it is still relatively unknown in many parts of the U.S. Nevertheless, in-home preschool offers a mother lode of potential benefits at every level, from family households to the state capitol. Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters is a realistic and highly cost-effective approach to closing San Bernardino County's gap between supply and demand for preschool education services.
High Desert New Beginnings, Inc. (HDNB) has provided the HIPPY Program to eligible families in and around Barstow, California since 2004. We are the only organization to have offered this unique program in San Bernardino County, the closest other location being in the City of Riverside.
The mission of HIPPY is to empower parents and caregivers by training them as primary educators of their children in the home and to foster parental involvement in school and community life to maximize the chances of successful early school experience. The power of this early parental involvement cannot be overstated!
THE HIPPY RATIONALE:
Empowers Parents/Caregivers
Focuses Specifically on School Readiness Skills
Relies on Home Visitors and Professional Educators
HIPPY GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1. All parents want what is best for their children.
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2. All young children can learn.
3. All children mature in the same development areas.
4. Early learning and development are multidimensional. The developmental domains are highly interrelated.
5. Parents are the primary and most important educators of their young children.
6. Knowledge and understanding of child growth and development and consistent age-appropriate materials and techniques are essential to maximize educational experiences for children and to support parents in their roles as their children's most important teachers.
HIPPY, (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), a home-based, early literacy and school readiness program, is based on the premise that success begins at home. HIPPY seeks to support parents who may not feel sufficiently confident to prepare their children for what they consider to be "school knowledge". Serving families with three, four, and five year-old children, HIPPY works directly with the parents in order to break the cycle of educational limitations by increasing the chances of successful early school experiences among their children. Parents, with the support of community-based home visitors, work with their children using developmentally appropriate HIPPY educational materials and storybooks for approximately 20 minutes a day, over a thirty-week period. The HIPPY curriculum introduces skills and concepts to children in a progressive manner, first using the physical body, then concrete objects, and finally representation of objects in pictures. Children read storybooks and have many opportunities for practice and learning by completing activities that focus on a wide range of skills that fall within the basic development domains, with strong emphasis on cognitive and language development.